When Samsung launched the Galaxy SmartTags and SmartTags+ alongside the Galaxy S21 series in January, it was clearly a response to the longstanding rumors that Apple has been working on its own Bluetooth tracker for the iPhone. Now it looks like Apple’s own AirTags might actually undercut Samsung’s price for the highest-end UWB trackers.
A new report from Max Weinbach courtesy of the EverythingApplePro YouTube channel shares some details about the ultra-wideband-infused AirTags, much of which corroborates previous leaks. You can find the relevant information starting at the 6:00 minute mark in the video below, but here’s what Weinbach says:
“AirTags are 32mm x 32mm x 6mm. As for the inner-workings of the AirTags, it’ll use the Find My network from devices to send the UUID of the AirTag to the Apple servers for pinging. No other data from the tags get transferred. My guess is there’s just a BLE beacon broadcasting that at any given moment that the iPhones pick up on. Tags can also pick up information on other nearby tags, so it can kinda hop off one another. So when tags come into contact with other tags, they’ll pass that data along. … We are expecting AirTags to be accessories and they estimate the price to be around $39, but that’s an estimate.”
Previous AirTags rumors have all but confirmed that the AirTags will have U1 chips inside them to generate precise location tracking in the iPhone 11 and 12, as well as the Apple Watch Series 6. That would match up with Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTags+, which are slated to ship later this year for $40. Tile is also working on a UWB tracker that will likely be priced higher than its current $30 Tile Pro.
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He’s still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.
